The volleyball seemed ready to bounce Jim Thorpe’s way Thursday – on more than one occasion.

Even though the Olympians lost an opening set to heated rival Marian, one sensed that they were far from being dominated. And when the visitors piled on an impressive set-two win, there was a strut in the gait of Jim Thorpe.

But Marian’s poise held up as the Fillies took the next two sets for a 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 26-24 Schuylkill League volleyball victory.

For a young Fillies team, the victory was rewarding, even though it occasionally tested the patience of veteran head coach John “Doc” Fallabel.

“We’re a young team, a very young team, and that’s what you get with young teams,” Fallabel said about the flashes of inconsistency his squad is still prone to having. “But we are learning.”

There was a time in the heat of the battle that Jim Thorpe looked like it was about ready to make a mad dash to the finish line. But it didn’t happen, something that was tough for Jim Thorpe coach Victoria Nicholas to swallow.

“We know that we played really well,” said the fifth-year coach of the Olympians. “Our offense was swinging, we were trying to find the holes (in the defense), but ...”

One factor that doomed the Olympians was Alivia Karchner’s play at the net as the Fillies middle hitter had 17 kills and three blocks. Ashlyn Kitsch also had a huge game at setter with 35 assists.

And Fallabel was quick to point out the defense was the focal point in the victory. The 21 digs by Macie Mazalusky, and the 17 by Tatiana Zeleniak jumped right off the stat chart for the coach.

“It’s not easy, but we’re getting there,” said Fallabel about the inch-by-inch improvements in each outing. “We had a lot of girls do some nice things tonight.”

With the Fillies leading 2-1, the match was eventually decided by an exciting fourth set that saw several extreme momentum shifts.

Trailing 21-18, Thorpe rallied to forge a tie thanks to Abbey McGinley, who posed two points in the rally. But Marian answered right back to go on top 24-21. This time, an Olympian timeout gave them new life as they roared back behind Brandy Montemuro to forge a 24-24 tie.

The Fillies reversed the momentum once again, however, as a double-hit gave them the go-ahead point, before a return error produced the game-winning point.

QUOTEABLE … All of our kids played very well, I commend them on their great effort. We just have to continue to practice harder,” said Nicholas.

BANG, BANG, BANG … That’s the way Fallabel described his team’s rally in the third and fourth sets, after Jim Thorpe had tied the match.

NO SWEEP … Jim Thorpe took care of business in the opener 2-0.